It Is I; Do Not Be Afraid
In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus comes walking on the water to men who are straining at the oars.
Mark 6:50NIV
Mark 6:50. The disciples have been rowing against the wind most of the night. Jesus, praying alone on the mountainside, sees them struggling, and somewhere around three in the morning he comes to them walking on the lake. They think he is a ghost and cry out. He speaks at once: take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.
Three short phrases. The middle one carries the weight. It is I. In Greek the words echo the way God names himself in the Old Testament. Jesus is not merely saying it is your friend. He is saying the one who rules the sea has come to you across it.
This verse matters today because most fear is not of the storm itself but of being alone in it. The disciples had been rowing for hours with no sign that anyone had noticed. Someone had. He had been watching from the hillside the whole time, and when he came, the wind died down. Whatever you are rowing against this Monday, the same eyes are on the boat.
More in scripture
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Lamentations sets grief and hope in the same breath, and tells the tired reader where to look first.
Be Still, and Know
A short command from an old psalm asks us to stop, and tells us why.
Be Still, and Know
An ancient line, written for a frightened people, asks us to stop before it asks us to understand.
